Weather-strip



(No Model.)

0. L. BELL. Weather Strip. No. 238,753. Patented March 15,1881.

TO-LIT ihvrrnn STATES 'ATQENT OFFICE.

CHESTER L. BELL, OF MAPLE RIVER JUNCTION, IOWA.

WEATH ER-STRI P.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 238,753, dated March15, 1881.

Application filed January 6, 1881.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Onnsrna L. BELL, of Maple River Junction, in thecounty of Carroll and State of Iowa, have invented an Improved AutomaticWeather-Strip for Doors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of devices that are designed toprevent wind, dust, rain, and frost from passing into a house through acrevice under an outside door.

Heretofore hinged strips have been applied direct to the bottoms ofdoors to be operated in numerous ways by means of cams, levers, andsprings. Strips have also been combined with the thresholds of doors tobe automatically turned up against the doors when closed, by means ofcams and catches fixed to the doors. A weighted strip has also beenhinged to a strip of corresponding length fixed to the outside of thedoor in such a manner that the weighted strip would be depressed by itslower edge coming into contact with a projection on the door-frame.

Hinged strips on doors that require extraneous devices for pressing themdown on the threshold, or holding them up as the door swings, to preventthem from scraping on the carpet or fioor, are liable to cause the doorto warp, and to seriously interfere with the opening and closing, andlatching and locking of a door.

My improvement consists in pivoting a weighted metal strip in a metalboxing that can be readily and rigidly fixed against the bottom of thedoor to stiffen the door and prevent it from warping, and in such amanner that the pivoted strip will be elevated when the door swings, byforce of gravity, and depressed upon the threshold when the door isclosed, by simply coming in contact with the door-jamb, or a plain metalplate fixed to the door-jamb, all as hereinafter fully set forth.

Figure 1 of my accompanying drawings is a perspective view of myimproved device. Parts of the box are broken away to show the positionof the weighted and pivoted strip relative to the inside of the boxing.Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View, showing the device applied to adoor and the strip elevated. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view,showing the device applied to a closed door, and the hinged (No model.)

strip depressed upon the threshold by means ofa plate on the door-jamb.Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a door having the complete deviceattached. Jointly considered, these figures clearly illustrate theconstruction, application, and operation of my complete invention.

a a represent a case or box, preferably made of malleable iron, and castcomplete in one piece. It may, however, be formed of metal plates thatcan be joined together by means of lap-joints and rivets. Its bottom isopen, and its front side extends only about half-way down. Its closedtop is perforated to allow screws to be passed through upward and intothe bottom edge of the door, for the purpose of securing the completedevice to the door. It also has perforations b in its closed ends,

through which screw-bolts are passed inward,

and into the ends of the weighted strip 0, to pivot the strip within thebox. In place of using screw-bolts to pivot the strip, journals may beformed on or attached to the ends of the strips to enter correspondingbearings formed in or attached to the ends of the box. The lower edge ofthe strip 0 is thin and tapering.

d is a shoulder in the front face of the strip. It extends from one endto the other, and is designed to engage the lower edge of the front partof the box a.

e is a flange or swell extending inward from the top edge of the stripto add weight to the strip and to place such added weight in aneccentric position relative to the axial center of the strip whenpivoted in the box.

f represents a stop fixed in the box in such a posit-ion relative to thestrip that it will engage its weighted top edge and restrict thedownward vibratory motions of the weighted edge, and thereby prevent thelower edge from rising too high.

g represents a common wooden threshold or carpet-strip.

his a fiat metal plate fixed on top of the flat center and level surfaceof the wooden strip g.

i is a fiat metal plate fitted into the inside edge of the door-jamb.

To apply my invention to a door I simply cut off the lower end squarelyand sufficiently to allow the box to be fitted and fastened to the endin such a manner that when the door is hinged and closed the lower edgeof the box will come within about one-sixteenth part of an inch of thetop surface f the threshold or a metal strip fixed on top ofit.

In the practical operation of my invention, constructed and applied asset forth, the inclosed weighted top edge of the pivoted strip willbalance the lower and exposed edge whenever the door is open, asrequired, to prevent the lower edge from scraping the floor or carpetwhen the door is swung to and fro; and when the door is closed theprojecting and elevated edge is depressed to assume a vertical positionand to fill the space between thelower edge of the front side of theboxing and the threshold, and to abut against the front or outer edge ofthe metal strip fixed upon the top and level surface of the threshold,as required, to prevent wind, (lust, rain, and snow from penetratingunder the door.

I claim as my inveution- 1. As an improved article of manufacture, aweather-strip for doors composed of a metal case or boxing having anopen bottom and a partially open front, and a weighted strip pivoted toand within said boxing, substantially as shown and described, to beapplied and operated in the manner set forth.

2. lhe combination of the box or case a a, the pivoted strip 0 d e, andthe stopf, substantially as shown and described, for the purposesspecified.

8. The case or boxing a a, fixed to a door and carrying the oscillatingstrip 0 d e, a metal plate, h, on the threshold g, and the metal plate'i, fixed to the door-jamb, arranged and combined to operate in themanner set forth, for the purposes specified.

CHESTER L. BELL.

YVitn esses N. WILLIAMs, J. W. REED.

